Feel The Love Through Deliveroo Links

Imagine that you are walking along the streets of Hong Kong. To the right, cramped streets in the markets of Sham Shui Po turn abruptly into flights of steps careering upwards into tong laus, a tenement of buildings established in 1960s. To the left, the sudden dense factories in Kwun Tong and Kwai Tsing turn into a bluish midst of domestic smoke. In Hong Kong, which was once considered Pearl of the Orient, now has a population where 1 in 5 people are considered poor, 200,000 people live in subdivided flats, and 40,000 people cannot afford to have 3 meals a day.

Lifting people out of poverty and protecting our environment are one and the same fight. Attempting to reduce food waste to be disposed at landfills, Environment Bureau (ENB) will implement "Municipal Solid Waste Charging" by 2019, and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will implement "Charging by Designated Garbage Bags". These policies will hit restaurants hard due to heavy water weight in the food.

By helping the community and addressing the issues of food shortage, global health and environmental protection, Deliveroo launched Deliveroo Links on World Food Day (Nov 16). This food recovery program serves to recover quality surplus food, redistribute food to the needy, and raise awareness about the issue of food waste in Hong Kong.

Believing that no one should suffer from hunger in Hong Kong, Deliveroo connects restaurants and philanthropies by leveraging its 2,000+ restaurant partner network. This is a win-win situation, in which restaurants can reduce food waste by providing surplus ingredients, while philanthropies can engage the community by distributing food to people in need through staff and volunteers.

Currently, Deliveroo partners with 6 restaurants –Wong Chi Kei,Paradise Dynasty,Mrs. Fields Cookies,Youni,teakha andKorean Canteen connecting them with 6 NGOs – People Service Centre, ChickenSoup Foundation, West Kowloon Vineyard, Food-Co, FoodLink Foundation, and the Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers to deliver extra food from the restaurants for people in need. Deliveroo works with the NGOs both on a regular basis and event basis, depending on their needs.

Recently, Deliveroo delivered Mrs. Fields' cookies and Korean Canteen's gimbap to the quarterly birthday celebration of subdivided flat children held at aChickenSoup Foundation-affiliated centre in Tsuen Wan. With limited space at home, these primary school students regularly study at the centre. For these children, even the simplest food is a gift. The gathering is the source of sustenance, nourishment, safety, and satisfaction.

We often underestimate the power of a cookie, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Deliveroo is looking for more restaurant partners and NGOs to help grow the program, if you are interested in finding out how you can get involved, please email may.yeung@deliveroo.com.